Hi there, i just got a brand new but still a 2008 North EVO 7m, I got it for my 11 y.o son to learn on.It is not one pump but that is okay as there are just 3 struts. Problem is there is no stopper ball or one way action on the valves. Does anyone have any suggestion on how to inflate and insert the plug without losing all the air

I was thinking that maybe the best thing would be to just replace those 3 valves with some valves that have stoppers inside them??

Hi - that used to be the standard setup on various (but not all) kites....stopper ball on the leading edge, but none on the struts.

Just pump the strut, then pinch the valve between two fingers as you extract the pump and slot the stopper in (while still pinching the valve). It's harder to do this with low volume struts than larger ones, sometimes you may need to over pump them slightly to compensate for some loss....

what you have is a first run of the evo, more or less proto type . that's why no one pump..pretty sure, if I am wrong, sorry.but I have seen one before and the nipples are so damn small, hard to inflate. was a long time ago though.

Thanks all for your feedback. The biggest issue is the two small bladders near the wingtips. This is a 7m so they are tiny in terms of volume..... The problem is that those things that North installed that you stick into the bladder to deflate were left in there from when it was new in the bag so that little membrane valve thingy is useless.

I have been trying but the problems are a) the valve is to stiff to squeeze to prevent any loss after removing the pump and... b) doing the thumb over technique still results in too much loss..

Seems like i should get my hands on some old valves with a stopper and stick em on.

try heating the valve up a bit while holding it upside down. Can use warm water or a hairdryer on low. It might get that little stopper to drop back down into position. I agree if you leave the little stick in too long, it can cause the stopper not to seal.

OK, what tony just said, but in detail, here's something to try before replacing the valves :

Take the strut bladders out of the kite.By looking through the back side of the bladder opposte the valve, examine the 85%-sliced internal end cap of the vinyl valve bore to determine where it's sliced and where it is still attached.

You should see the sliced cap hanging a bit open, having take a set from years of having the draining-probe holding the cap open.

Using a blunt-tip or rounded probe-shaped tool, like the drain probe but probably stiffer, push the sliced cap back into the valve bore as far as possible ( the opposite of how it was stored for years ) and leave it pushed in for a day. You will be pushing on it through the opposite side of the bladder, make sure your tool tip is rounded so that you don't deform or puncture the bladder.

After a day the sliced cap should be sitting more closed and not gaping wide open. Inflate the bladder ( alone ) pumping very slowly ( to not force the cap wide open ) to the point where the bladder is tight as a drum and starting to bulge at it's largest circumference. Pull the pump nozzle out of the valve quickly. You want the pressure inside the bladder to act suddenly on the cap and slam it shut.

If the caps are now doing their thing, put the bladders back in the kite. If not, give them more time with the caps pushed into the bore.

If this works, then for a while, don't use the drain probes to deflate the struts, just pull the plugs and let them deflate on their own. The more time the sliced caps spend with internal pressure pushing them shut the better.

If it doesn't work, then replace the valves with stick-on 1-way valves.